1. Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system and in particular to a method and apparatus for process management. More particularly, the present invention is directed towards providing a computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program code for consolidating task related data from a plurality of data sources in a business process management solution.
2. Description of the Related Art
Human tasks frequently play a valuable role in business processes. They allow humans to carry out tasks that may not be suitable for automation. As a process is performed, tasks that are to be performed by a human may be assigned to one or more users. As these tasks become more advanced and more complex, the users performing the tasks may require different types of information from a variety of different data sources prior to completion of the tasks.
Currently, when a process involves human performed tasks that require data from multiple external data sources, a user typically logs onto each of the various data sources and manually obtains the relevant data, assesses the data, and then makes the decision or otherwise completes the task. However, the process of obtaining data manually from multiple different data sources may be inefficient and burdensome. In addition, the user may not have the knowledge required to locate and access the various data sources, identify desirable data, and retrieve the data. In other words, if an entity has many processes that require human actions, a user may have difficulty remembering where and how to retrieve all of the relevant data from the various data sources for each different human task in each process.